The invention relates to a running board for a motor vehicle, and to a method for assembling a running board on a motor vehicle.
Many types of vehicles, including sports utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and vans, are raised off the ground farther than normal passenger automobiles. The increased height of the floor of the passenger cab from the ground makes it difficult to enter and exit these vehicles. Running boards are available to assist the driver and passengers in entering and exiting these vehicles. There exists numerous references describing various running board designs. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,589 to Delgado et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,035 to Waddington et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,544,991 to Gorsuch; U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,949 to Elwell, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,896 to Kravitz.
A running board for a motor vehicle is provided by the invention. The running board includes a bracket assembly and a shroud for covering the bracket assembly. The bracket assembly includes a forward fastening plate and a rearward fastening plate for attachment to a motor vehicle, a bar extending between the forward fastening plate and the rearward fastening plate, and a step member attached to the bar extending between the forward fastening plate and the rearward fastening plate and providing a step area. The shroud includes a step shroud constructed to cover the step member, a forward shroud constructed to cover the bar extending from the step member to the forward fastening plate, and a rearward shroud constructed to cover the bar extending from the step member to the rearward fastening plate. The running board can additionally include a bracket adapter for attaching the forward fastening plate and the rearward fastening plate to the motor vehicle. Preferably, the bracket adapter includes a forward bracket adapter having a bracket attachment area for attachment to the forward fastening plate and a vehicle attachment area for attachment to the motor vehicle, and a rearward bracket adapter having a bracket attachment area for attachment to the rearward fastening plate and a vehicle attachment area for attachment to the motor vehicle.
A method for installing a running board on a motor vehicle is provided by the invention. The method includes steps of attaching the forward fastening plate and rearward fastening plate of a running board bracket assembly to a forward bracket adapter and a rearward bracket adapter, respectively, attaching the forward bracket adapter and the rearward bracket adapter to the rocker panel of a motor vehicle, and attaching a shroud to the bracket assembly for covering the bracket assembly. The step of attaching the shroud can take place before or after the step of attaching to a motor vehicle.